1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a weaving method and a loom for implementing this method. It relates more especially to a method for weaving a flexible container.
2. Description of the Related Art
Inflatable cushions for lifting aircraft are known that have been designed to facilitate the towing from the mud and the recovery of commercial and military aircraft that accidentally veered off the runway.
These cushions allow airport emergency crews confronted with an aircraft off the runway to lift the latter and then to tow it quickly and safely while avoiding causing any secondary damage to it.
FIG. 1 is a cutaway view of a lifting cushion for an aircraft of the prior art. This cushion typically comprises two woven walls 1, 2 that have been coated for sealing and hot-vulcanized. These woven walls 1, 2 are connected on their periphery by excess rubber thickness 3.
These walls 1, 2 are also connected to one another by polyamide threads 4, which, when they are put under tension by inflation of the cushion, are parallel and evenly spaced from one another.
These threads 4 are of identical length so as to keep the walls 1, 2 parallel. The application of a uniform lifting pressure on the aircraft structure under which the cushion is placed is thus ensured.
This latter point is especially critical, for example, during the lifting of fragile elements such as an aircraft wing 5 to prevent the onset of structural damage (FIG. 2).
Now, losses of air from these lifting cushions can be observed that result from a manufacturing defect or that appear over time at rupture points 6 of the structure of the lifting cushion. By way of illustration, manufacturing defects can result from poor vulcanization or else from slipping of the excess rubber thickness 3 before vulcanization.
Such defects lead to a non-uniform application of the lifting force on the structure of the aircraft and may be responsible for secondary damage.
There is thus a critical need for an inflating cushion that is produced in a single piece in order to offer increased resistance to stress.
More generally, numerous woven articles that exhibit a complex shape, such as polystyrene pellet-filled cushions, chair slipcovers, etc., . . . , result from the assembly of initially separate textile pieces that are then joined, for example by stitching, to impart its definitive shape to the article.
Now, these articles by definition exhibit a certain structural weakness at these assembly areas.
Premature wear of the article at these areas can result in, for example, the loss of the filling material of the article.
Finally, the assembly times for these articles that have a complex shape can be relatively long and require skilled operators, making the article expensive.